I think stress may have something to do with it, since now I am afraid everytime I go out it's going to happen. I did try the imodium once and you are right it did mess me up for a few days, which is what I was afraid of. My problem is that the way I work, I can only run after work, which means I am eating all day before my run. (breakfast, lunch, and probably a snack before my run) Dehydration may be a factor, as I am realizing I am not drinking enough.

I am this close to chucking the half marathon and only running the 4 mile that day, since I can't trust my body to hold up for me. The last thing I want to do is run with a pair of Depends on!

Thanks so much for the info on the ingredient --I will look for it and try to take it out of my diet where I can find it t. I am also going to try the suggestion on isolation of certain foods. At this point, even a spoonful of peanut butter gives me the runs!

When is your half marathon?? Don't give up! I am a teacher and the only time I get to run is after work, sometime between 5-8 at night. Its tough, I know. In order to make sure I am drinking enought water throughout the day, I take a water bottle with me to work that will hold approx. 32 oz of water and I make sure I drink it by lunch time, then I fill it up again and sip on it throughout the rest of the day. I used to eat heavier foods for lunch...now I eat salads, 1/2 sandwiches, and include a bunch of fruit or veggies. If I'm especially hungry, I "treat" myself and bring a Lean Cuisine to work...but watch the sodium!! If I get home from work late and don't feel like running, I hit the gym and do a cardio workout...the way I look at it is at least I am getting my heart pumping which will help with the stamina on runs. I hope you change your mind and stick with it and good luck!

I had the same issue. Anytime I ran over 3-4 miles my stomach went crazy and I had to use the bathroom immediately. Just last month a friend at a local running store (26.2 Running Company) told me about a product called Prev. It is made specifically for this issue. I take it before my runs and feel like I am in control of my stomach. I was worried that it would make me constipated or feel plugged up. But my digestive system actually seems better than ever. The company who makes Prev is local here in Utah County so I checked them out. It is a nutritional company that has been in business for 25 years.

Diet and stress were the biggest contributors to my problems early on in my running. I really struggled with "Runners trots" the first two years of running and specifically during marathon training. Every time I'd run for more than about an hour I'd end up looking for a quick bathroom. I had to plan my long runs around it and had a couple really tough near miss episodes!!!! I read a lot and tried a lot of different things and nothing really seemed to work. My first two marathons I made it to the half way point and had to do a very quick emergency stop. One thing I did notice though was that as I built a better base of miles my stress level started to lower and the problem started to improve a little. I've been running now and training steady for going on 4 yrs, the last two marathons I've run have gone much better and I didn't have to stop in either race. This is what I do and it seems to work. On all long training runs I make sure that a bathroom is somewhere near the 1-2 hr mark in the run. For actual races I really watch my diet closely for the week leading up to the race. I reduce my fiber intake a great deal (normally I eat salads for lunch nearly everyday) and increase my carb intake. Another thing I do is eat lightly and early the night before my race to give my body a chance to digest completely before race time. It seems to be working very well. I think with a much stronger base of miles and conditioning I'm now running longer runs with much less physical stress combined with a more cautious approach to how I eat leading up to races really helped me solve the problem. Not very scientific and probably only makes sense to dealing with what ever triggers it in me but it might be worth a try. Good luck and remember....... always keep those gas stations in sight!! JUST IN CASE!!

Quote from Bob Moawad " You can't make footprints in the sands of time if you are sitting on your butt. And who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time"

Actions

More Like This

Retrieving data ...

ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.